Sorry for the sudden disappearance, pets! It’s pretty much been heads-down working the past few days, with the rest of the time meeting members of Styx (and then getting home at 3 a.m.) and errands and a dance class and guests and meetings and…

But now, the Journal from Hell is done! and I can start getting back to my life, and editing the novel, and working on some short stories, and getting enough sleep.

Two important highlights:

• We have a new nephew! Ken’s brother and sister-in-law welcomed their third son to the world on Friday night. Last we heard, the tentative name was Riley (which will forever make me think of Buffy’s Riley).

• I technically finished Blackwood House on Wednesday night. Okay, I did finish this draft. It just doesn’t _feel_ finished to me because it’s 48,000+ words, and to count in the Beat Dean Challenge* it has to hit 50K, and Silhouette calls for 53-58K. The book will easily make that length; I’ve got whole new scenes to write and add it. But, I did type “The End” after a very rushed last chapter. [beam]

* Dean has challenged our OCW group to write more books from 1 Nov 02 through 31 Oct 03 than he does. Twelve writers against one. We’re ahead 3 to 1 so far, I think. The scary thing is, he could still whomp us.